A study examines the language contact phenomenon of Irish in which a native morpheme combines with a borrowed morpheme that has become, over time, fully assimilated. One variety of this blending in Gaeltacht Irish is the substitution of "-eir" for the English-bound "-er/-ar/-or," which is then combined with nativized borrowed…

The linguistic situation in Ireland over the last few centuries is examined from the rise of Irish dialects of English to the present. Four aspects of this history are examined: factors affecting the emergence of Hiberno-English dialects beginning in the seventeenth century, including opportunity for learning English, patterns in literacy and…

Essays in applied linguistics include: "Meaningful Negotiation: A Study of the Pedagogical Value of Autotutor-An Interactive Video Learning Resource" (John Stephen Byrne); "Medium of Instruction in the L2 Classroom" (Wei Danhua); "The Story of Language Contact and Shift in Ireland: How Unique, How Universal?" (Markku,…

The applicability of transferability principles to language contact in the British Isles, especially Ireland, is shown with a detailed discussion of absolute constructions, structures with interesting relations between syntax and discourse, and with susceptibility to cross-linguistic influence. Evidence for transferability of absolutes in…

This paper examines the written use of the "be after V-ing" construction since the reintroduction of English into Ireland. Information comes from publications beginning in 1670, including 193 works by 87 authors providing 1,316 tokens of the construction. Results support Filppula's (1999) view of historical change in the use of this…

Possible origins for the use of "sorrow" as a negation in Hiberno-English are considered. Much of the evidence examined here comes from English literature. It is concluded that the uses of "sorrow" as negator and as euphemism probably reflect Celtic substrate influence. Structural evidence indicates that "sorrow"…

This study investigated factors facilitating acquisition of Irish in Irish-medium playgroups designed for children who are native English-speakers. Data were gathered in four visits each to two such playgroups, each containing approximately 20 children. Four aspects of conversational exchanges were examined: understanding; code mixing; formulaic…

A collection of essays on "the other" in discourse includes: "The Rhetoric of Othering" (Stephen Harold Riggins); "Political Discourse and Racism: Describing Others in Western Parliaments" (Teun A. van Dijk); "'Das Ausland' and Anti-Semitic Discourse: The Discursive Construction of the Other" (Ruth Wodak);…